ISSUE #56 - August, 2005
Back to ShowBiz Pizza.com Homepage

It's only fitting that I make a disclaimer and say that this event wasn't promoted honestly. That was my bad. Our slogan was 'CV2 - Twice the Fun, Better than One' and I now see how that was misleading. CV2 was ten times better than last years gathering. Sorry if I caused any of the confusion - you can send all hate mail to the e-mail address listed on the homepage.

As everyone knows by now, this year the event was held in a private location which turned out to be one of the best moves that could have been made. Jenn and J managed to transform a tranquil space into a CEC/SPP madhouse. I was there to help them set up the hall the night before CV2 so it was begining to take shape, but when I saw the completed setup I myself stood back in awe beneath what I was seeing. Every table in the house was decorated and covered with colors. PTT colored balloons were made into towers and placed all over. The stage was alive with colored lights and Rock-afire valances. The fantasy forest was a darkened nook with multiple videos playing. And every available space was covered with some sort of collectable, photo, or robot. I had pretty high hopes for this event and I was amazed to see what was in my head become a reality.

The event itself was a blast! We all met up at the Danvers store to meet one another and have dinner before heading over to the hall. I was pleased to see many new faces this year including some much younger fans who made the trip - some of whom traveled from states away. During our dinner, Super Chuck was out on the floor to entertain and get everybody pumped for the night and to set the mood for what was lying ahead. From Danvers it was off to the CV hall where the event was officially kicked off!

As the fans entered the convention they were greeted by a giant 3-D CV sign. Everyone immediately spilled into the room to check out all the different tables that were set up with assorted attractions. Myself, I sat back and watched as everyone was taking in all there was to see. It was really nice seeing the younger fans appreciating the collectables displays, and I was amazed by how much they knew about PTT and the RAE - stuff that was way before their time! Our merch table became busy early on, so Sandie was hard at work attending to that.

Once everyone was calmed down and rounded up, it was time to kick off CV2 with the opening ceremony. Jenn and J made the formal introduction and the next event was the trivia contest. That was quite fun to watch - most of the younger kids were up taking the challange against some of the members of our message board. The contest was pretty loose and everyone helped one another out. Everyone left with a prize of some sort and there were no losers at all. Once our contest was finished everyone had another chance to check out the attractions and catch a snack from our snack counter. Aside from being covered with wonderful artwork done by Jenn, the snack counter had all sorts of party platters... fresh popcorn, cookies, crackers, chips, dip, punch, fruit, and more. J's wife Cheryl did an awesome job preparing and arranging the snack table - the cookie tray itself was a work of art!

During this social break, Kerry showed a short video prepared for the event by her and Aaron called "Seals, Monkies, and Creative Engineering". I'm not sure how many people 'got it' but I thought it was great! Just when you thought it was going somewhere informative, a potato sack race begins. You'll have to wait for the CV2 DVD release to see what I'm talking about - but it was one of the most funny and pointless short films I've ever seen. Two paws up.

Next up was the Live shows - J and Jenn did a fantastic job arranging and performing for the CV crowd. Chuck, Helen, Jasper, and Munch all made live appearances. Rapid T. Rabbit made a special appearance and performed on stage with Chuck. Pasqually even appeared courtesy of J along with his magic picture frame - the crowd really loved this one and I think it stole the entire show. The grand finally was a 'new' segment that brought the worlds of the Rock-afire and Chuck E. Cheese together in a performance of the RAE's 'Satisfaction Medley'. Chuck was dubbed into the audio track, and everyone was on stage together - CEC, Billy Bob, Looney Bird, and Earl Schmerle! It was quite a sight to see this combination and the results were very entertaining.

As the night winded down, the Live characters again hit the floor to take some photos with the fans. The younger fans really loved this part, as they got to interact with characters that can't be seen in restaurants anymore. Rapid T. Rabbit again came out and filmed some interviews with the fans which was really neat. As the night winded down it was time for the clean-up. Nobody wants to hear about that so I'll just say that everything came down a lot quicker than it went up. For those staying the weekend, CV wasn't over yet - the next day brought on even more Chuck E. fun!

On Saturday we did what we had planned to do last year, but couldn't due to weather issues - a trip to Canobie Lake amusement park. After a short stop at the Methuen CEC for lunch, we headed to the park and toured the rides and special shows as a group. The CV crowd was in for a surprise when some arrangements were made to have CEC performing live on stage with Bozo the clown! We all had front row seats for this once in a lifetime performance that was truly awesome. Everyone probably knows that I'm a hard-core Rock-afire fan, and CEC isn't always my cup of tea... especially modern era CEC. But this performance made me a believer! During the 15 minutes leading up to Bozo's scheduled performance he announced that Chuck E was going to be making an appearnace, and the CEC Live music began playing over the loudspeakers. The entire crowd was shocked and came alive with cheers, as many passers-by joined the audience. I have NEVER seen a crowd react that way to Chuck - with the music loud and everyone actually giving their undivided attention to his performance. The audience behind me playing along to Bingo, and interacting with Birthday Star was incredible - it got to be louder than the music that was blaring over the sound system. The kids in the audience were actually applauding, cheering, and chanting his name. It was surreal, I can't think of any other words to use that fit. Even later when Bozo came out to do his skit, Chuck E stole the show onstage with him and worked wonders for rounding up the kids. The line for photographs following the show was long - and it kept growing as people passed by. They finally had to rope off the line of people wanting to get on stage. I'm positive the photo session lasted longer than Bozo's show itself. This event sticks in my mind as one of the biggest highlights of this year's CV. I'm not one to throw around terms, but it really felt like a little magic was in the air.

Saturday night wrapped up with the necessary 'Parking lot Live show'. That means the CV fans performing a live show in the dark outside of CEC's afterhours via thumping car speakers. We had an unsuspecting cast member witness the insanity this year and it was taped this time around. As if that isn't nuts enough... picture everyone doing this in the cold rain.

Sunday was filled with local tours and much talk about (you guessed it) Chuck E. Cheese, but all in all it was a fun weekend. Everyone who attended had a blast as I'm sure they'll tell you and that's all that matters. But I've gone on about CV long enough and I'm all out of space. Rock-a-Palooza is scheduled for the last week of this month starting August 28th - keep an eye on the message board for all the latest news and info between now and then!